Frozen storage tray and mounting



July 6, 1954 F. R. EcK 2,682,754

FROZEN STORAGE TRAY AND MOUNTING Filed July 16, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1'FLOYD R ECI(- 4; f Avro/wears July 6, 1954 F, R, ECK 2,682,754

FROZEN STORAGE TRAY AND MOUNTING Filed July 16, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR. FLoyo R. ecl

WMM/M Patented July 6, 1954 FROZEN STORAGE TRAY AND MOUNTING Floyd R.Eck, DesrPlaines, Ill., assignor to Motor Products Corporation, Detroit,Mich., a corporation of New York Application July 16,

5 Claims.

This invention relates generally to refrigerator cabinet structures, andrefers more particularly to an improved storage tray for use inconnection with refrigerator cabinets.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a removable storagetray, which when assembled into the cabinet of a refrigerator, performsthe following functions: (1) serves as a heat insulating baille betweenthe cooling element or evaporator and the storage space within thecabinet; (2) collects moisture which drips from the evaporator duringthe defrosting operation; and (3) serves as a storage space for articlesit is desired to maintain at a temperature somewhat lower than thetemperature existing in the storage space.

It is another object of this invention to provide a tray having a mainbottom wall and a supplemental bottom wall coacting with the main bottomwall to form a space therebetween for accommodating heat insulatingmaterial.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a tray whereinthe supplemental bottom wall is formed separately from the main bottomwall, and is secured to the latter wall in a manner to provide afluid-tight seal around the space containing the heat insulatingmaterial.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a tray of the abovetype wherein the supplemental bottom wall is in the form of an invertedpan-shaped section, and wherein the side and end walls of thesupplemental bottom wall coact with the siole and end walls of the trayto provide a channel within the tray around the supplemental wall foraccommodating moisture dripping from v the evaporator. Thus articles maybe supported on the supplemental wall without coming in contact With anymoisture that may accumulate in the tray.

The foregoing as well as other objects will be made more apparent asthis description proceeds, especially when considered in connection withthe accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary front elevational view of a refrigeratorcabinet showing the door removed and illustrating the storage trayembodying the features of this invention;

Figure 2 is a sectional View taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a perspective View showing the evaporator; and

1951, Serial No. 237,019

Figure 6 is an enlarged cross sectional view through the storage tray.

In Figure 1 of the drawings, the upper portion of a refrigerator cabinetI0 isshown with the usual door removed for the sake of clearness. Thecabinet I0 comprises an outer shell II, an inner shell I2 spacedlaterally from the outer shell, and heat insulation I3 interposedbetween the shells. The front edges of the two shells are connected by afront wall I4 preferably formed of a heat insulating material anddefining an access opening I5 which is normally closed by a suitablehinged door not shown herein,

The interior of the cabinet is refrigerated by suitable refrigeratingapparatus including an evaporator It suitably supported within thecabinet I0 adjacent the top of the latter. The remaining parts of therefrigerating apparatus including the condenser, motor-compressor unit,l

etc. may be of any type well known to the industry, and hence are notshown herein.

The evaporator I6 comprises a sheet metal casing I'I which is of adimension to extendsubstantially the full width and depth of theinterior of the refrigerator cabinet I0. The casing I'I has top, side,rear and bottom walls I8, I9, 26 and 2| respectively. The front wall ofthe casing is open, and is normally closed by an insulated door 22suitably hinged at the bottom for outward swinging movement to provideaccess into the interior of the casing.

The side walls I9 and the rear wall 2l) project upwardly beyond the topwall I8 and cooperate with the latter and top wall of the inner shell I2to form a space 23 for accommodating ice trays or other articles to bemaintained at a relatively low temperature. The door 22 is of suiiicientwidth to close both the access opening in the front wall of the casingand the space 23, as clearly shown in Figure 1 of the drawings.

In addition the evaporator embodies a continuous length of coiled tubing24 having three sections 25, 26 and 2l. The section 25 is brazed orotherwise suitably secured to the underside of the top Wall I8 of thecabinet I'I, and has one end 28 which projects through the rear wall 20of the casing. The end 28 of the section 25 is connected to one end 29of the section 2l, and the latter is brazed or otherwise suitablysecured to the underside of the bottom wall ZI of the casing I1. Theother end 30 of the section 27 is connected to the lower end of thesection 26, which is brazed or otherwise secured to the rear wall Z ofthe casing I1. The upper end of the section 26 is connected to asuitable accumulator 3 I, and

the latter is connected to the refrigerant supplying apparatus (notshown) by a suction line 32. Refrigerant is supplied iirst to thesection 25 through a drier or dehydrator 33 suitably fixed to one sidewall I9 of the casing I l, and the drier or dehydrator 33 is connectedto the refrigerant supply apparatus by a capillary tube not shownherein.

The efficiency of the evaporator I in maintaining the atmosphere withinthe casing I1 and space 23 at relatively low temperatures is improved byproviding a baille in the form of aV storage tray 36 directly below thebottom wall 2l of the evaporator, and thereby prevent the warmer air inthe storage space 3G beneath the tray 36 from coming in direct Contactwith the bottom wall of the evaporator. The storage tray 36 may beformed of various different materials but is preferably formed ofplastic or some equivalent heat insulating material. The tray 3G isdimensioned to extend substantially throughout the full width of thestorage space 34, and throughout the full depth of the evaporator i5. Asshown in Figure 6 of the drawings, the tray comprises two sections 31and 38. The section 3l is open at the top and has side, end, and bottomwalls Il and fll respectively. The section :le is in the form of aninverted panshaped part also having side, end, and bottom walls d2, d3and dal respectively.

The section 38 is supported within the section 37, and `forms asupplemental bottom wall of the tray 35. Referring again to Figure 6 ofthe drawings, it will be noted that the top of the bottom wall il isformed with a recess l5 dimensioned to coact with` the invertedpan-shaped section 38 to form an enclosed space 4t of sub,- stantialdepth for accommodating a relatively thick batt of heat insulatingmaterial 4'1. It will be noted that the recessed portion of the bottomwall II is fashioned with upstanding ribs 48 which serve to effectivelyreinforce the Wall 4I. Similar ribs lil may also be formed on the wall44 or" the section 38, if desired.

The side and end walls 42 and 43 respectively of the section St areformed with laterally outwardly extending flanges 5@ which seat on thetop surface of the bottom wall il around the recess 6,5. The ilanges 58are fashioned with a depending rib or projection 5I, which extendscontinuously around the recess 615, and projects into a groove 52 formedin the adjacent portion of the bottom wall 4I of the tray. Theprojection lll and the side walls of the groove 52 are correspondinglytapered in a direction to facilitate inserting the projection into thegroove. In any case the contacting surfaces of the flange 5d and bottomwall il are cemented together by a suitable plastic cement 53 in orderto secure the supplemental bottom wall 33 to the bottom wall 4I of thetray section 3l' and to also provide an eilective fluid-tight sealaround the space 46 for the' insulating material 41.

In use the tray is removably supported in the storage space 34 directlybelow the bottom wall 2i of the evaporator casing Il'. For accomplishingthis result a pair of guides 54 are respectively secured to oppositesides of the liner I2 by fastener elements 55. The guides are preferablyformed of a suitable plastic material, and each guide is provided withvertically spaced channels 5E for selectively slidably receiving flanges57, which extend laterally outwardly from opposite side walls 39 of thetray section 31. The purpose of the vertically spaced CII channels is toenable supporting the storage tray 36 in different vertical positionswith respect to the evaporator I6, and thereby vary the depth of thespace between the bottom of the evaporator and the tray 36. Thus agreater or lesser amount of air circulates through the space directlybelow the evaporator I6 and the rate of cooling of air in the storagespace 3d is controlled accordingly.

The tray 36 is free to slide forwardly from the position thereof shownin Figure 2 of the drawings through the access opening l5 in the cabinetI9 to a position wherein the articles supported within the tray arereadily accessible. This position of the tray 3S is determined by lugs5S projecting downwardly from the flanges 5IV adjacent the rear end wallit of the tray and engageable with stops 59 projecting upwardly from theguides 5t adjacent the front ends of the latter. The height 'of thestops 59 is so determined with respect to the depth of the guidechannels 56 to permit completely removing the tray 35 by merely raisingthe same off the guides sufficiently to enable the projections 58 toclear the stops 59.

In order to facilitate handling the tray 36 and also improve theappearance of the tray, a handle Ell of extruded aluminum, for example,is secured to the front end wall di) of the tray 36 adjacent the topthereof. Also the appearance of the tray is improved by extending thefront end wall 4I? laterally beyond the opposite side walls 38 adistance approximating the width of the flanges 5l. As a result theanges 5l and a substantial part of the guides 5d are concealed from Viewwhen the tray is in its operative position.

As shown in Figures l and 2 of the drawings, the tray 36 is supported inclose proximity to the bottom wall of the evaporator casing I'I, and thetop of the tray is open so that the contents are cooled to a relativelylow temperature by the evaporator. The insulated bottom wall of the trayretards the transfer of heat from the storage space 3d into the interiorof the tray,

and also acts as a baille to direct air circulating in the space 34 awayfrom the bottom of the evaporator. In addition the tray serves tocollect moisture dripping from the evaporator during the defrostingoperation; and in this connection, it will be noted that thesupplemental bottom wall 33 is elevated to provide a continuous channelat the bottom of the tray for receiving the moisture. As a resultmoisture collected by the tray is prevented from contacting articlessupported on the supplemental wall 3S.

What I claim as my invention is:

l. A baille member for installation in a refrigerator cabinet between afood storage compart ment and a cooling unit in the cabinet above thestorage compartment, comprising a tra.;T open at the top and havingside, end and bottom walls, a supplemental bottom wall cooperating withthe bottom wall of the tray to provider an enclosed space and having amarginal portion seated on the bottom wall of the tray, and a ribsurrounding the enclosed space and projecting from one of said bottomwalls into a groove in the other of said bottom Walls, said rib andgroove having adjacent surfaces integrally secured together incontinuous sealing contact throughout the length of the rib.

2. A baille member for installation in a refrigerator cabinet between afood storage compartment and a cooling unit in a cabinet above thestorage compartment, comprising a tray having side, end and bottomwalls, a supplemental bottom Wall located within the tray in verticalspaced relationship to the bottom wall of the tray and having dependingside and end walls coacting with the bottom Wall of the tray to providean enclosed space, and an upwardly opening recess in the bottom wall ofthe tray registering with the enclosed space and substantiallyincreasing the depth thereof.

3. The structure defined in claim 2 wherein the side and end walls ofthe supplemental bottom wall has a continuous marginal surface arrangedin sealing contact with an adjacent surface of the bottom wall of thetray surrounding said recess, and a rib surrounding the recess andprojecting from one of said bottom Walls into a groove in the other ofsaid bottom walls.

4. A heat insulating member for installation in a refrigerator cabinetbetween a food storage compartment and a cooling unit in the cabinetabove the storage compartment, comprising a tray supported within thecompartment and having side, end and bottom walls, a supplemental bottomwall located Within the tray in vertical spaced relationship to thebottom Wall of the tray and having depending side and end walls spacedlaterally inwardly from the corresponding walls of the tray to provide achannel Within the tray around the supplemental bottom wall,

and marginal portions projecting laterally outwardly from the side andend walls of the supplemental bottom Wall, said portions cooperating toform a continuous marginal flange having a sealing contact throughoutits length with the bottom wall of the tray and integrally secured tosaid bottom wall of the tray to provide a unitary structure.

5. The structure defined in claim 4 wherein the bottom Wall of the trayhas an upwardly opening recess within the confines of the marginalportions and registering with the enclosed space to increase the depthof the latter, and heat insulating material located between the bottomWall of the tray and said supplemental bottom wall.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 523,344 Hancock July 24, 1894 1,587,167 Marsden June 1, 19261,881,873 Newcomb Oct. 11, 1932 2,281,690 Hedlund May 5, 1942 2,327,672Schweller Aug. 24, 1943 2,501,540 Ryan Mar. 21, 1950 2,511,126 PhilippJune 13, 1950 2,550,165 Richard Apr. 24, 19-51 2,581,618 Anderson Jan.18, 1952

